Congo War Security Review, November 21, 2025

* CTP will be pausing the Congo War Security Review from November 24 to November 28. The next update will publish as usual on December 1. *

Data Cutoff: November 21, 2025, at 1 P.M. EST   

To receive the Africa File and Congo War Security Review via email, please subscribe here.   

Follow CTP on X, LinkedIn, and BlueSky for daily updates.   

Read CTP’s full analysis on the DRC-M23 peace framework in DRC-M23 Doha Peace Framework—A Long Road Ahead: Africa File Special Edition.

Read CTP’s latest analysis on the war in the eastern DRC in the weekly Africa File here.     

Key Takeaway: Members of the US-backed Joint Security Coordination Mechanism convened for the fourth meeting. M23 attacked pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in western Masisi district and captured a village in adjacent Walikale district in North Kivu. The Congolese army bombed an M23-controlled gold mine in southern Walungu district in South Kivu. M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters near Walungu town.

Kinetic Activity in M23-Controlled Areas     

Nothing significant to report.   

Northern Axis: Lubero-Butembo-Beni-Bunia

Nothing significant to report.   

Southern Axis: Bukavu-Uvira-Baraka-Kalemie 

The Congolese army (FARDC) bombed an M23-aligned militia position in the South Kivu highlands. An FARDC fighter jet reportedly conducted two bombing runs on an M23-aligned Twirwaneho position in Mikenge village on the RP527 on November 21.[i] Mikenge is about 15 miles north of Minembwe town in Fizi district on the RP527. Pro-Congolese government forces had previously conducted drone strikes on Twirwaneho positions in Mikenge and another nearby village on November 15 and 17.[ii]

Twirwaneho fighters attacked pro-Congolese government Wazalendo fighters in the South Kivu highlands. Twirwaneho fighters reportedly attacked Wazalendos in three villages south of Minembwe, including Kinyokwe, on November 21.[iii] Kinyokwe is roughly 22 miles southwest of Minembwe in Fizi.

Northwest Axis: Masisi-Walikale-Lubutu-Kisangani

M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in western Masisi district in North Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Actualite.cd reported that M23 attacked Wazalendo fighters in two villages near the RP529, including Mahanga, in the Osso Banyungu sector on November 21.[iv] Mahanga is about 10 miles southwest of Nyabiondo on the RP529. The outlet reported that M23 reinforced its position with more fighters and ammunition on November 19, a day after it attacked Wazalendos and Congolese army elements and captured two villages in Osso Banyungu.[v] M23 has used its position in Kazinga village to conduct a westward offensive in Osso Banyungu since it captured the village on November 14. French state media cited local sources on November 20 who said that M23 may be seeking to capture a major Congolese army base 20 miles away.[vi]

M23 captured a village in adjacent Walikale district in North Kivu. Actualite.cd reported that M23 fighters from Kibati village on the RP529 captured Kaliki village in the Waloa Yungu group in eastern Walikale on November 21.[vii] CTP is unable to verify the location of Kaliki. The Waloa Yungu group is near the border between Masisi and Walikale, its eastern edge touching the Osso Banyungu sector in Masisi.

Southwest Axis: Bukavu-Kamituga-Shabunda-Kindu   

The FARDC bombed an M23-controlled gold mine in southern Walungu district in South Kivu. The Congolese media outlet Tazama RDC reported on social media that an FARDC attack drone conducted an airstrike on Karhembu, an M23-controlled gold mine located near Tubimbi village on the RN2 in Walungu, on November 20.[viii] Tubimbi is about 16 miles south of Walungu town on the RN2. The Congolese media outlet Radio Okapi reported on November 21 that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters around Karhembu on November 21.[ix]

M23 clashed with Wazalendos near Walungu town. Radio Okapi reported that M23 clashed with Wazalendo fighters in a village about one mile from Walungu town on November 21.[x] Clashes between the two sides had taken place in several areas around the town and near the RN2 on November 19.[xi]

Unconfirmed reports claimed that M23 advanced on the Shabunda and Mwenga district fronts in South Kivu. A pro-M23 source claimed on social media that M23 captured Nyalubemba and Kimbili villages on the RP503 in Shabunda on November 20.[xii] Nyalubemba and Kimbili are about five and 10 miles west of Mayimingi village on the RP503, respectively. M23 had taken control of Mayimingi in its first confirmed capture in Shabunda on November 16.[xiii] A pro-M23 claimed on social media that M23 captured Kilungutwe village on the Mwenga front on the RN2 on November 20.[xiv] CTP is unable to verify these reports. M23 had clashed with Wazalendo fighters in the nearby Ntondo group in northern Mwenga from November 12 to 14.[xv]

Major Political Developments

Members of the US-backed Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) convened for the fourth meeting. The DRC and Rwanda, along with Qatar, Togo as the African Union representative, and the United States, held the fourth JSCM meeting in Washington, DC, on November 19 and 20.[xvi] The readout said that the DRC and Rwanda reviewed progress on the preparatory phases of the dual-sided military plan for the FARDC to neutralize the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and see Rwanda withdraw its troops and military equipment from the eastern DRC.[xvii] The mechanism members discussed “ongoing challenges” and opportunities to advance a campaign to spread awareness and demobilize FDLR members ahead of military operations as part of the preparatory phase.[xviii] The Congolese government initiated the campaign in early October, but the FDLR has reportedly refused to disarm and surrender.[xix] The JSCM members then began discussions on the next step of the dual-sided plan, which is to implement it on the ground.[xx] The members also discussed the broader peace process, commending Togo for its plan to host peace talks to “further foster trust and advance the peace process” in January next year.[xxi]